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Traditionally, data centers have provided fundamental yet critical needs such as space, power, air conditioning and other functions. But the proliferation of cloud computing has changed the landscape of data centers – opening new opportunities for data center operators to enhance their relationships with cloud service providers (CSP (News - Alert)) and managed service providers (MSP).

By working with these partners, data center operators can offer premium services such as colocation, redundancy, back-up and data recovery (BDR), and contingency planning, according to Raghu Kamath, vice president of partner management for NetEnrich, Inc.

“Those who are able to successfully evolve and adapt to the new demands and dynamics of the cloud have an unprecedented opportunity in front of them,” Kamath explained in recent article in The Data Center Journal. “But there are go-to-market choices to be made, and making the right decisions out of the gate will enable operators to cash in and maximize their investments and their revenues over the long haul.”

Data center operators can take these investments a step further by adding cloud-based remote infrastructure management (RIM) services to their offerings, according to Kamath, which will enable them to increase their value proposition to their customers and develop new revenue streams.

“Furthermore, their customers benefit from the peace of mind that comes from 24/7/365 management of all key infrastructure components, without increasing headcount or straining internal resources,” he explained.

Based on recent research, the market opportunity for data center operators is significant. Citing a leading research firm the majority of North American companies will be using RIM services in the next couple of years. In fact, the total market for RIM services is currently estimated to be between $80 billion and $120 billion, with the market expected to grow by 20 percent annually, according to Indian IT research firm, NASSCOM.

Once a data center operator decides to add cloud-based RIM services to its portfolio, the company has two choices. The first is to invest heavily in their own infrastructure, or the operator can partner with specialist companies that already have the expertise and capacity to deliver these services, Kamath said.

If a data center operator chooses the latter, they need to consider several important key factors when choosing a partner, including: technical excellence, service-delivery history and breadth of experience in managing on-premises, public and private cloud environments.

“The ability to generate recurring and sustained revenue streams from these managed-services offerings will increase their market valuation and ultimately ensure their long-term profitability,” Kamath summarized. “Furthermore, operational costs associated with managed services and cloud-based RIM services will fall as more users are added, driving costs down and increasing profitability over time.”

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